Gold Cup 2025: Groups A & B Preview

The 2025 Gold Cup is a tournament in which 15 nations from the Concacaf region and one guest nation (Saudi Arabia) will battle it out to be the champions of North/Central America and the Caribbean! The nations are set, and the tournament is ready to kick off this weekend with the group stages. Let’s look at each group and break down their nation’s chances to win.

Gold Cup, USMNT — CHICAGO, IL – JULY 07: A detail view of the 2019 Gold Cup Trophy is seen after the CONCACAF Gold Cup final match between the United States and Mexico on July 07, 2019, at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire)

Gold Cup Preview

This Gold Cup comes at an interesting time for Concacaf. In one year’s time, the USA, Mexico, and Canada will jointly host the 2026 World Cup. Those nations have automatically qualified for the 48-team World Cup, and all will use this Gold Cup as their last extended period of tune-up before the even bigger tournament.

The other teams in the region are battling for three other Concacaf qualifying spots, and there are even two more Concacaf teams that can make the World Cup through intercontinental playoffs. Only the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, and the non-Concacaf nation, Saudi Arabia, are teams not competing for a Concacaf World Cup spot in this Gold Cup. The level of competition at this summer tournament will be high.

We will start by previewing Groups A and B in this article and then look at C and D in a corresponding article. This will allow us to take a closer look at each group and the teams fighting to hoist the Gold Cup on July 6th!

Group A

The first group at this Gold Cup features the defending champions, Mexico (ranked 17th in the world), fallen giants, Costa Rica (ranked 54th in the world), and underdogs Suriname (ranked 137th in the world) and the Dominican Republic (ranked 139th in the world). There are clear favorites to get out of the group, but could we see a major upset this summer? Here’s a look at the Group A matches.

Mexico vs Dominican Republic | Saturday, June14 |10:15 pm EST
Costa Rica vs Suriname | Sunday, June 15 |11:00 pm EST
Costa Rica vs Dominican Republic | Wednesday, June 18 |7:00 pm EST
Suriname vs Mexico | Wednesday, June 18 |10:00 pm EST
Dominican Republic vs Suriname | Sunday, June 22 |10:00 pm EST
Mexico vs Costa Rica | Sunday, June 22 |10:00 pm EST

Mexico is trying to become the kings of Concacaf after a few years of turmoil. They won the last Gold Cup and this year’s Nations League and are a favorite to win it all this summer. Costa Rica is in the grueling process of World Cup qualifying; can they use this tournament to tune up for the last round of qualifying and make a return to the World stage in 2026?

Suriname is a team that could cause some shock at this Gold Cup. They’re on their way to the final round of World Cup qualifying, and if they want to shock the world, they’ll have to start by shocking Concacaf! The Dominican Republic was just knocked out of World Cup qualifying and will look for some positives. They’ve only lost twice in the last calendar year; those losses were in World Cup qualifying and are why they haven’t moved on; they will feel a chip on their shoulder and want to make a Cinderella run at this Gold Cup.

Group B

Group B sees some nations that will be great competitors. A favorite for the tournaemnt, Canada (ranked 30th in the world), A scrappy underdog nation with a history of success at this tournament, Honduras (ranked 75th in the world), and two other longshots El Salvador (ranked 81st in the world) and Curacao (ranked 90th in the world). With just one favorite out of this group, who will rise up and make the knockouts? Here’s a look at the Group B matches.

Curacao vs El Salvador | Tuesday, June 17 | 8:15 pm EST
Canada vs Honduras | Tuesday, June 17 | 10:30 pm EST
Curacao vs Canada | Saturday, June 21 | 7:00 pm EST
Honduras vs El Salvador | Saturday, June 21 | 10:00 pm EST
Canada vs El Salvador | Tuesday, June 24 | 10:00 pm EST
Hunduras vs Curacao | Tuesday, June 24 | 10:00 pm EST

Canada has had a meteoric rise over the last half-decade. They are showing that they are a top team in the region. Can they do so by winning this summer’s Gold Cup? The Canadians should be the top team in this group. Honduras is another story. They used to be a top player in the region, but now they’re a scrappy underdog. The experience is there for them to get out of the group; they have to make it happen.

El Salvador is another nation that fits the scrappy motif. They will look for any way to win; this is how they have made it to the final round of World Cup 2026 qualifying. There’s a big opportunity to get out of Group B should they take care of business against nations near their level. Curacao is like El Salvador and Honduras, but they lack the experience of playing in the big matches of the past. They’re a nation perpetually in Concacaf Nations League matches; with only two losses in the last year, could this be when Curacao makes a shock run at this Gold Cup?